Editorial: Time to meet in the middle

Wednesday

May 30, 2007 at 12:01 AMMay 30, 2007 at 11:27 AM

Following the results of the May 14 override vote, we used this space to implore the differing sides of that issue to see each other’s perspectives and come together in an attempt to move forward. Judging from the events of the last two weeks, that hasn’t happened yet.

First, there’s the request for a recount that is now slated to take place next Wednesday, June 6. It’s interesting that people concerned with the financial well being of the town would want to commit taxpayer dollars to a recount that seems highly unlikely to yield a different result than the one we saw on Election Day.

But beyond the cost, the recount is furthering the divide between factions on either side of this issue. It’s even prompted the formation of an opposition group, the “We Also Believe in Georgetown” Committee. It’s not hard to imagine the representatives of either group sitting on opposite sides of the room as the recount progresses, glowering at each other.

“A recount is an adversarial proceeding,” notes West Street’s Steven Epstein, attorney for the “We Also Believe” group, and he’s right. Not that there’s anything wrong with that — if the override lost by two votes, it would be a necessity to ensure that democracy had truly been served. Given the margin here, though, it seems more like just another vehicle through which to advance a burgeoning and disturbing “us vs. them” attitude.

Combine that with recent insinuations from override proponents that parents who voted “no” were basically committing child abuse, and you’ve got a situation that is going nowhere good.

As we’ve said before, it’s easy for those who can afford it to preach to those who can’t about the need for higher taxes. It’s already hard enough for less affluent families to keep up with many of their Georgetown neighbors without also being made to feel like second-class citizens for favoring lower taxes and fiscal responsibility.

It’s telling that many of the same people who decried a proposal to end the school choice program — on the grounds that Georgetown needs the diversity the program encourages — don’t seem particularly concerned about whether the town has economic diversity. The message seems to be, “If you can’t afford it, then leave.”

Meanwhile, the “no” voters have to make sure they’re taking the very real concerns of the override proponents seriously. The exorbitant user fees currently being discussed by the School Committee for student athletes are proof that the town’s fiscal problems aren’t imaginary. There is a middle ground between the “no new taxes” crowd and those who see it as the only option, and you have to work together to find it.